Dispensing closure



Filed May 12, 1960 R. H. THOMAS 3,076,573

DISPENSING CLOSURE Feb. 5, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY Rah/012W BY mad Feb. 5, 1963 R. H. THOMAS DISPENSING CLOSURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 12, 1960 INVENTOR I ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,076,573 DISPENSING f CLOSURE Ralph I-I, Thomas; Clark,"NJ.,' assignor to Bristol-Myers ompany,-Nevv York,N.Y., a corparation-of Delaware FiledMay 12,-1960, sereNa-zasss 7 Claims; (Cl. 215-) This invention relates to a resilient dispensing closure having means toregister, in a resiliently yieldable manrnerithe dispensing opening with a container opening.

; More particularly, this invention relates to -a dispensing wiclosure "of; this typefor use i with a compartmentedj container having separate openings for selectively dispensing material fromeach compartment.

1 compartmented container having a single neck-with sepat rate openings for communicating with each compartment l since it is often-desirable to have available or to packag-e I for sale two or more different materials in a single-unit with a closure or series of closures to selectively. dispense -.the-desired material. v 1 geouslypackaged in a single container for-facilitating their use-include cleaner and polish; vinegar and oil; nail polish t "and removeryvarious shampoo compositionssuch -,as' a i t shampoo composition which is anteifectivehair and-scalp cleanser and =asecond-shampoo composition yvhich is an Materials which can be advantaeffective'hair conditioner; "home permanent wave solution *a'nd neutralizer; bleach and blueing; salt and pepper and two or'more lubricating oils.

Although many different types of dispensingi closures areknown they often sufier from various shortcomings particularly whenwadapted for compartmented containers.

;Thus, some of the prior art dispensingclosures lack posi- -tive means for effectively holding the disper ising-e-losure and the container opening in positive registering-relationship; others are formed'by metal-pressingorbending operations to produce dispensing closures whichare not i fluid tight; while still otherswhich employ substantially fluid tight positive means'for positioning a dispensing f =--'opening to selectively dispense materials frorn-a:compartgmented container, require various accessory parts sueh as v -housings forvalves and coilsprings, rotatable spring I loaded protruding nozzles; a seriesof cooperatingjspring loaded lugs andstops and the various accessory mechanical 5 a parts such as bolts, rivets, gaskets or knobs for; assembling and using the mechanism. Ingeneral'theprior 'artgdispensing closures used with compartmented-containers have a .-plurality of parts, are expensive to manufacture or assembl, are not fluid tight ondo notemploy positivei means tor} selectinglor. holdingin registry the desired container 'opening Also, many of the dispensingqclosures; are designedto cooperatewith containers=whoseneck or-head portions mustlhave c'ooperating valves; springs housings andthe like.

C'Iheproblems outlined above are solved-and further advan-tages: are obtained with--the provision of .thenovel, finexpensive dispensingclosure of this invention.- r -Ingenferal thedispensing closure of this invention is a resilient f cap comprising i a dispensing} opening, means; .forat tachrnent 'tothe neck of a container and ridges :or protuberanceson the cap to cooperate alternately,upontmovement of the cap, with raised and depressed portionson the containerneck so as to alternately-produce an outwardly tensioned and an inwardly relaxed condition of the dispensing a cap-as the dispensing openingis taken inmor rout of isresiliently yieldable registry with anopening in the container neck. In apreferredembodiment, this dispensing 3,076,573 ?atented Feb. 5, 1963 ice - thecontainerupon further rotation.

It is a generalobject f thismvention tofpro-vide an effective inexpensive dispensinga elosure which has positive, resiliently yieldable dispensenopeningselector.means.

- It is anotheraobject of this inventionto rprovide-a-one piece homogeneously integral; dispensing. closure of this type which can be molded in asingleoperation on ahigh speed automatic plastic moldingmachine. t

,It is still-another objeetvof this mention to provide a fluid tight;dispensing closure which. .is adapted -for,[select tively dispensing materials a from a compartrnented conrainer and. which is easy to usepsimplea-in construction and does not requirecooperating springs -hou'sings',gaskets .and the likev 1 t It-isafurther object of this invention toiprovide a dispensing clo'suretffor selectively dispensingt-materialsfrom t t; a compartmented I container .lwherein the Lclosure automatic'ally signals itsaccurateregistry with the desire/d compartment opening... I U -5 I L JAcl ditiorial:;objects of this invention include the provision of aifselective dispensing clo-sure of this.]type which canbe easily attached-to the neck of a container? and 3 wherein the container neck 'doesrnot employicooperating Q valves,fsprings;gasketsiandthe like. i". The'se andetherreatures of the invention contributing satisfaction in fuse, economy in manufacture andadapta- ,fljljbilityto various conditions Will bemore fullyunderstood ironi -theffollowingideseription of preferred embodiments offthe iriventio'n when taken ,inv connection with the accompanying drawings wherein identical numerals refer to [identical parts. I I i i I EI G. is a front elevation of a compartmented bottle with a screw t pe es attached thereto; I FIG 2 is aplan'yiew of FIG.- 1",

l "F IG.;,3 isianagmentar section on the 1ine3-3 of EI G." 2 and. showsthe novel dispensingclosure; 1 BIG; is'a-greatly enlarged fragrne ntary, portion of the bo'ttleand dispensing closureof FIG.' '3;

QEIGf 8 is a bottom view of a m1odified dispensing closure; i I 1 -I- f 1 b 1G. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of the dispens- 7 'ing closu'relof FIGd8 attached to "a bottle;' t. I EIG... 10[ is'aplan view;of the dispensing closure of Skattachedtb a bottle; and 1 I j FIGgll isCafcros s-sec fonalview of a screw type cap adapted for securing about" the, bottle neck,

heembedimentor thetinvent'iionvasillustrated inFIGS. 1'7. comprisesiabottle. 10 having compartments 12 and V {13 which'eiitend through the cylindricalbottle neck 16 'andhaveQannularfopenings ZiLand 21in thetopi of the l neck or bottlehe'ad-18; The compartments tlland 13 v are separated by partitionfl l The neck"1 6 has an j outer 3 annular groove or horizontal circular depression 22, a projecting stop 24 and screw threads 26. The dispensing closure, or simply cap 28 has a top 30 and 21 depending cylindrical flange or skirt 32. Flange 32 has an inner annular snap-on bead 34 for detachably securing within the neck groove 22. The cap 28 has a projecting lug 36 which cooperates with the neck stop 24 to limit rotation of the cap 28. To one side of the center of the cap top 39 there is an annular opening 38 which is surrounded by an annular rounded rib 40 which fits snugly within either of the head openings 20 or 21. The rib 40 projects below the cap top 30 by a sufficient protrusion so that upon rotation of cap 28 the rib 40 yieldably slides out of the head opening 20. A conventional cap 44 having screw threads 46 can be secured to neck 16 by cooperation with neck threads 26 when it is desired to store the assembled dispenser. Cap 44 has a gasket 48 which forms a seal over rib 40. In addition to rib 40 the cap 28 has a second annular rib 42 which is devoid of the annular opening 38. Rib 42 fits snugly and in sealing relationship within either of the opposite openings 20 or 21 when rib 40 is in one of the openings 20 or 21. A second lug, such as 36, not shown in FIGS. 1-7, is positioned on the cap 28 in an almost diametrically opposite location from that of lug 36. The two lugs in cooperation with stop 24 provide elfective means for arresting the rotation of the cap 28 when opening 38 registers with the neck openings 20 or 21. The lugs are positioned so as to compensate for the thickness of stop 24 in its abutting relationship with the lugs and still maintain the registering positions irrespective of which lug is abutting stop 24. In order to dispense fluid from compartment '12 as shown in FIG. 3, the screw cap 44 is removed, the bottle is inverted whereupon liquid fiows out of the bottle head opening 20 and the dispensing cap opening '38. The different liquids of bottle 10, such as a shampoo hair cleanser and a shampoo hair conditioner, in the compartments 12 and 13 respectively do not intermingle since the annular ribs 40 and 42 are held in sealing relationship with the head openings 20 and 21 by the resiliency of the cap 28. In order to dispense liquid from compartment 13, the dispensing cap 28 is simply rotated so that the annular ribs 40 and 42 slide out of the openings 20 and 21 respectively and automatically snap into the openings 20 and 21 for dispensing fluid from compartment 13. The snap in action is easily perceived while rotating the top since it requires a greater amount of force to slide the ribs 40, 42 out of the openings 20, 21 than to merely slide the ribs over the bottle head 18. Also, the stop 24 prevents additional rotation in the same direction. The automatic snap in action is due to the tensioning of the resilient cap 28 when the ribs 40 and 42 are slidably rotated out of the cooperating bottle openings 20 and 21. The cap 28 is in a relaxed or nontensioned position when the ribs 40 and 42 are in openings 2t) and 21. Cap 28 attains a maximum resilient tension when the ribs 40 and 42 are sliding over the top of head 18 since the cap top 30 is being forced upwardly. The stop 24 aids in the registry of the ribs 40' and 42 with openings 20 and 21 by cooperation with a lug such as 36. Preferably two lugs are employed and are so positioned that abutting relationship with stop 24 is attained upon the application of a rotational force but while the ribs 40 and 42 are slightly displaced within openings 20, 21 in the direction of the applied rotational force to cause a slight tensioning of the cap 28 so that upon release of the rotatable force on cap 28, the cap rotates slightly in the reverse direction of the applied force and centers itself in registry with openings 20, 21. The use of the stop 24 and the cooperating lugs permits automatic and accurate positioning and registry of the is employed the ribs 40, 42 can snap in and then out and past the desired openings when the cooperating stop 24 and lug 36 are not employed. Also, the provision of normally permitting a slight rotation past the registering relationship compensates for dimensional errors of the various parts of neck 16 and cap 28. It is preferable that the dispensing closure of FIGS. l-7 be molded from conventional low density polyethylene.

The dispensing closure of FIGS. 8-10 shows certain modifications of the invention. Thus, cap top 30 has three downwardly dependent annular ribs 50, 52 and 54 in the shape of unsymmetrical hollow truncated cones having their smaller diameter away from top 30. These ribs are equally spaced at angles about the center of top 30. Ribs 58, 52 and 54 extend above the cap top 30 in the form of rounded annular ribs such as 40 in FIGS. 1-7. Rib 52 forms an annular flange for top opening 38. The sides of ribs 50, '52 and 54 toward cap skirt 32 project further from cap top 30 so as to compensate for the curvature of bottle head 18. Also, the angle of the sides of these ribs closer to the cap skirt 32 is more obtuse with respect to the surrounding top than the angle of the sides closer to the center of the top in order to compensate for the curvature of bottle head 18 in forming a fluid tight seal. The ribs 50, 52 and 54, due to their angular relationship with cap 30 and bottle head 18 act as individual springs to give added resiliency to cap 28 as they bear on the various parts of bottle head 18. This particular construction is particularly advantageous with plastic materials which have less resiliency than conventional low density polyethylene but which are harder and can act effectively in the manner of a thin leaf spring. Such a resin is high density polyethylene or high density polypropylene. These high density resins have a greater amount of crystallinity than the conventional, i.e., low density polyethylene and can be produced with the well known Ziegler type polymerization catalyst. A downwardly depending annular rib 64 is found on the cap top 30 which cooperates with bottle head 18 to aid in forming a fluid tight seal particularly when the screw threaded cap 44 is secured over the dispensing cap 28 and neck 16. Skirt 32 has an inner annular cylindrical bead 34 which cooperates with neck groove 22 for detachably securing to the neck 16. Skirt 32 also carries two lugs 36 and 37 which cooperate with the single outwardly projecting stop 24 to provide positive means for arresting the rotation of cap 28. The lugs 36 and 37 are laterally displaced about the circumference of cap 28 so that upon rotation of the cap the ribs are moved slightly beyond their seating position with the head openings or depressions 20, 21 and blank opening 53 but an insufiicient amount for the ribs to be raised out of the head openings. Thus, the stopping action due to the lugs 36 and 37 occurs slightly past the registry point of the downwardly extending ribs and cooperating head openings so that when the rotatable force is released the cap 28 rotates slightly in the reverse direction since the ribs are still within the head openings and the springiness of the ribs and resiliency of the entire cap 28 exert suflicient rotatable force upon being thus released to cause the cap 28 to move to a less tensioned position. Bottle head 18 of FIGS. 8-12 has openings 21 and 21 and recess or blank opening 53. Blank 53 has a diameter such as that of openings 20 and 21 but does not communicate with the compartments 12 and 13. This is shown in FIG. 9 which is a fragmentary cross section between the centers of ribs 52 and 54 which are within the bottle openings 21 and 20 whereas rib 50 is within blank 53. The blank 53 and openings 20, 21 register with the top ribs 50, 52 and 54. The blank recess 53 permits the fluid tight sealing of the bottle While the cap 28 is in the relaxed or untensioned position by simply registering rib 52 which carries the top opening 38 with recess 53. Cap skirt 32 also has outer serrations to faciligreases ing advantage of meant "rib 64; the"provision'for blank 53 for registry withfopening" 38' to? facilitate fluid tight sealing without the aid of screw cap d4 when the cap 28 is'in relaxedposition; and theme-pr 3 annular ribs above the c'a'ptop instead er one:

FIG. 11 shows a modification of the screw cap 44 wherein a smooth, rotatable resilient plate 60 is snap fitted within cap groove 62. This modification enables the screw cap 44 to be tightly applied with only a slight or no rotational force on the ribs 50, 52 and 54 which extend above the cap top 30.

Examples of resilient plastic materials which can be used for fabricating the dispensing closure are polyethylene, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copoly-mer; polyvinyl plastisols; polybutyl methacrylate; polytrifluoromonochloroethylene; neoprene rubber, synthetic rubbers, natural rubber; polyethylene-polyisobutenlene compositions; pol-yvinylidene chloride; nylon and other polymeric compositions of matter which are resilient.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that the invention is capable of many modifications. Changes therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A compartmented dispenser suitable for dispensing two different fluids, comprising a bottle, said bottle having a top of substantially circular horizontal cross section, a bottom, a hollow body portion and a fluid tight vertical partition extending between the top and bottom forming two compartments, each of the compartments having one annular opening through the bottle top, each of said openings having substantially the same circumferential configuration, a horizontal circular depression about the exterior of said bottle below the bottle top; an integral resilient cap telescoped over the bottle top, said cap comprising a top having an annular flange which projects below the cap top, said flange having an inwardly disposed annular bead snapped within the bottle circular depression, said top having a downwardly disposed annular ribbed means within the cap top area circumscribed by said flange and being entirely to one side of the cap center, said ribbed means having inclined peripheral surfaces, an annular opening within the cap top area circumscribed by said annular ribbed means, a second down wardly disposed annular ribbed means within the cap top area circumscribed by said flange and being entirely to one side of the cap center, said second ribbed means having inclined peripheral surfaces and having a fluid tight transverse partition therein, said inclined peripheral surfaces of both the annular ribbed means registering in resilient wedging sealing relationship within the bottle openings, said annular ribbed means circumscribing a circle upon the bottle top on rotation coinciding with both the bottle top openings and cooperating with the bottle top and bottle openings upon rotation of the resilient cap to alternatively produce on the cap top a relaxed condition upon registry of the annular ribbed means within the bottle top openings and a tensioned condition upon being slidably and rotatably displaced from the bottle top openings.

2. The dispenser of claim 1 wherein the bottle has exterior screw threads below the bottle horizontal depression; and a screw cap having internal threads cooperatively engaging said bottle threads, said screw cap having above the internal threads thereof a horizontal circular groove and a resilient circular disk snapped within said groove, said disk having a flat smooth surface in contact with the resilient cap top and sealing the dispensing opening therethrough.

ILA homogeneously integral resilient plasticdispensing can adapted. for selectively dispensingfluids'j from a compartmented'fcontainer, sa .cap .comprising,;-a,,cylindrical top hav'ing 'acircumferential flange extending below the top, idfiansah ri sst me nardsd sea bead adapted for .snaponengagemen bput a cpmpa'rtmented container, said dispensing'cap tophavingtwo downwardly disposed "annular ribbed -meansg" having sir tiall-y smooth; inclinedcircumferential sm-faces, said ribbed means spaced at equal radial distances from the axial center of said top wherein the cap top area circumscribed by one of the ribbed means has a dispensing opening therethrough, and wherein the cap top area circumscribed by the second ribbed means has a fluid tight wall thereacross. 1

4. The dispensing cap of claim 3 wherein the ribbed means are in the shape of a truncated cone.

5. A compartmented dispenser for dispensing fluid materials comprising a container having a top, a bottom, sides and a hollow body portion, a fluid tight vertical partition extending between the top and bottom forming a first and second compartment within said container, the container top having a first and a second annular opening communicating with said first and second compart ments respectively, the said top openings spaced at an equal radial distance from the center of said top, means on the exterior of said container below the top for securable rotatable attachment of a cap; a resilient cap having a top and an annular flange which projects below the cap top, said flange having means for securable rotatable attachment with the container attaching means, said cap telescoped over the container top and rotatably attached thereto, said cap top having a downwardly disposed annular ribbed means and a dispensing opening through the top within the ribbed means, a second downwardly disposed annular ribbed means having a fluid tight partition within said ribbed means, both of said ribbed means being at the same distance from the cap top center as the radial distance of the container top openings, both of said annular ribbed means being within the cap top area circumscribed by the cap flange, the exterior circumference of said ribbed means and the interior circum-ference of the container top openings registering in resilient fluid tight wedging sealing relationship, the said first and second ribbed means circumscribing a circle on the container top upon rotation of said cap.

6. The dispenser of claim 5 wherein the container top is circular, the cap is homogeneously integral, wherein the means for securable rotatable attachment of the container and cap is a 'horizontal annular groove on the container exterior cooperating with an inwardly directed rib on the cap flange for snap-on rotatable attachment, the cap top having a downwardly disposed substantially circular bead concentric with the cap flange and container top about both of the downwardly disposed ribbed means and the container top openings, the said bead having a diameter less than that of the container top, the vertical thickness of said bead throughout its entire circumference being substantially uniform and less than that of the downwardly disposed ribbed means, the said bead being in fluid tight contact with the container top when the ribbed means are seated within the container top annular openings.

7. The dispenser of claim 1 including a resilient lug on the cap flange and a radial stop on the bottle, the said lug and stop cooperating in abutting relationship to arrest rotation of said cap about said bottle top upon application of external rotary force to the cap, the said arresting of rotation occurring past the registering position of the two ribbed means and bottle top openings but while the ribbed means are within said openings and yieldably forced to one side thereof in the direction of the applied rotation of the cap, the ribs automatically sealing in normal registry within the top openings by 7 8 movement of the cap in the reverse direction of the applied 2,349,724 Henderson May 23, 1944 force due to the resilient force of the ribs upon ceasing 2,576,416 Randlett Nov. 27, 1951 the application of external rotary force to the cap. 2,961,133 Ankney Nov. 22, 1960 2,970,724 Lacy Feb. 7, 1961 References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 1,273,779 Harris July 23, 1913 1 89 Australia 1, 1955 2,206,209 Thom July 2, 1940 348,887 Gr Bri in M y 2 931 

1. A COMPARTMENTED DISPENSER SUITABLE FOR DISPENSING TWO DIFFERENT FLUIDS, COMPRISING A BOTTLE, SAID BOTTLE HAVING A TOP OF SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULAR HORIZONTAL CROSS SECTION, A BOTTOM, A HOLLOW BODY PORTION AND A FLUID TIGHT VERTICAL PARTITION EXTENDING BETWEEN THE TOP AND BOTTOM FORMING TWO COMPARTMENTS, EACH OF THE COMPARTMENTS HAVING ONE ANNULAR OPENING THROUGH THE BOTTLE TOP, EACH OF SAID OPENINGS HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME CIRCUMFERENTIAL CONFIGURATION, A HORIZONTAL CIRCULAR DEPRESSION ABOUT THE EXTERIOR OF SAID BOTTLE BELOW THE BOTTLE TOP; AN INTEGRAL RESILIENT CAP TELESCOPED OVER THE BOTTLE TOP, SAID CAP COMPRISING A TOP HAVING AN ANNULAR FLANGE WHICH PROJECTS BELOW THE CAP TOP, SAID FLANGE HAVING AN INWARDLY DISPOSED ANNULAR BEAD SNAPPED WITHIN THE BOTTLE CIRCULAR DEPRESSION, SAID TOP HAVING A DOWNWARDLY DISPOSED ANNULAR RIBBED MEANS WITHIN THE CAP TOP AREA CIRCUMSCRIBED BY SAID FLANGE AND BEING ENTIRELY TO ONE SIDE OF THE CAP CENTER, SAID RIBBED MEANS HAVING INCLINED PERIPHERAL SURFACES, AN ANNULAR OPENING WITHIN THE CAP TOP AREA CIRCUMSCRIBED BY SAID ANNULAR RIBBED MEANS, A SECOND DOWNWARDLY DISPOSED ANNULAR RIBBED MEANS WITHIN THE CAP TOP AREA CIRCUMSCRIBED BY SAID FLANGE AND BEING ENTIRELY TO ONE SIDE OF THE CAP CENTER, SAID SECOND RIBBED MEANS HAVING INCLINED PERIPHERAL SURFACES AND HAVING A FLUID TIGHT TRANSVERSE PARTITION THEREIN, SAID INCLINED PERIPHERAL SURFACES OF BOTH THE ANNULAR RIBBED MEANS REGISTERING IN RESILIENT WEDGING SEALING RELATIONSHIP WITHIN THE BOTTLE OPENINGS, SAID ANNULAR RIBBED MEANS CIRCUMSCRIBING A CIRCLE UPON THE BOTTLE TOP ON ROTATION COINCIDING WITH BOTH THE BOTTLE BOTTLE OPENINGS UPON ROTATION OF THE RESILIENT CAP TO ALTERNATIVELY PRODUCE ON THE CAP TOP A RELAXED CONDITION UPON REGISTRY OF THE ANNULAR RIBBED MEANS WITHIN THE BOTTLE TOP OPENINGS AND A TENSIONED CONDITION UPON BEING SLIDABLY AND ROTATABLY DISPLACED FROM THE BOTTLE TOP OPENINGS. 